Rahul leaves for Saharanpur, UP police says will stop him at border

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today left for strife-torn Saharanpur, but district authorities said he would be stopped at the border.

Party sources said Rahul left for Shabbirpur village, the centre of the caste-based violence in the district, by road this morning after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Misra, who is camping in Saharanpur in view of the tense situation there, said the police have requested Gandhi to cancel his visit as it wanted to avoid any "confusion and provocation".

If he still comes to the town, he will be stopped at the border and requested to return. But if he does not, legal action under Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits an assembly of more than four people in an area, will be taken. 

If not permitted to visit the victims in the affected area, Gandhi would court arrest, Congress sources said.

The ADG said the situation is now returning to normal and things are improving fast.

Senior Congress leader P L Punia said on the phone that party men were awaiting Gandhi in the district.

"We want the administration to allow him to meet the victims of the violence," he said.